Oak mount? Do I need sphagnum?

[loviek]

I have a phal that is just screaming to be put on a mount! My daughter found some oak wood that is approx 3" by 10". I don't have any sphagnum but I do have a bag of shredded aspen wood fiber. Should I just order a cork mount and sphagnum? Or can I use what I have already?

[FLBob]

You don't NEED sphagnum to mount the Phal, though the sphagnum will help to keep moisture around the plant's roots. If you can keep the plant hydrated by other means that's ok to.

[loviek]

Well I deceided to take the plant out of the pot and I'm glad I did, most of the roots were rotten...so I mounted this plant to the oak, used some hose to secure it and hopefully it will take to the mount well. The hose is kind of an eye sore but ah well!

[FLBob]

If I could make a slight suggestion...
Looking at the photo above I would move the plant down. The roots will attach to the oak branch, so position the crown of the plant at the end of the branch.

The use of the hose is creative, hopefully you'll be able to remove it soon.

The roots that are remaining are very nice. I think the plant will do well.

[loviek]

Thank You so much for your help FLBob! I didn't think to move it down for the roots to grow. I'll do that now. Thanks again.:-D

[digitalgate]

you have to use "fresh" moss from the package, you can put a thin layer to retain moisture. Texas has very dry weather as it is in land.(unless you are in the coastal side).

[davetheorchidaddict]

Nice looking plant, welcome to mounting orchids. I use some cocoanut fiber to cover the roots and hold them down, it will also keep moisture around it.

[loviek]

Thanks Dave-yes I need to get either some sphag or coconut fiber...although, I don't mind watering it daily which I may have to do until it is established. I soaked it around 3pm today and the wood is still damp and roots are soft, smooth and shiny-not shriveled/dry yet...it's odd but this plant's roots have tiny 'hairs' or rough patches that actually cling to the wood-it obviously hated the pot and wanted to grow a little more naturally! I'm very excited!

[cadenza]

orchids mounted usually fare better for me as tendency is to over water and my area has very high humidity. usually add a thin layer of sphag.

[jerrymeola]

Phals never like to dry out so you are going to have a hard time keeping it moist. A bare root Phal will need daily watering.

I mount about 1000 orchids a year so I have a lot of experience. I have mounted Cattleya with and without moss and grown them next to each other. After a year or two the root growth is 3-10 times more extensive with the sphag then without.

With the need for more water with Phals I would never even try to grow it without sphag.

Now in both of these cases the roots grow onto the wood so you would think that the sphag would be irrelevant after time but the bare rooted mounts never seem to catch up.

I am looking at a Cattleya now. It is George King a 6 inch flower than is pastel in colors. It has been on a mount with sphag for about 18 months. The roots outside the sphag are all over the mount and the longest is probably 14 inches. It was a division cutting last year and is now flowering for the third time since mounting.

I placed 5 other divisions (different hybrids) on mounts bare root and gave them 3-4 times a week watering (daily rains during our summer.) They look so poor I am destroying them. They did flower without sphag but the plants just look bad. They look extremely dehydrated in spite of all the water.

[lmartiny]

I'm a tad late here. I've used some spag to mount some small Epidendrum pieces recently. When I did the Phals. I cut pieces of coco fiber from a pot liner and made a little pocket for the roots and some bark. I tie it on with fishing line. One Phal mount was done sometime in the spring and the roots have now reached the wood and grown well.

[davetheorchidaddict]

Phals without spag, I have about 10 or more mounted without any spag, just bare root on the mounting surface and they are all doing well and blooming. I mounted them when I noticed some of them growing all their roots out side of the medium and thriving, all that had been in the medium were gone. I take that as the Phal saying I do not like pots. I have never been able to keep a Phal. gigantia alive until I mounted it and the mounted one has lived and thrived almost 3 years now.

I water all of my mounted orchids daily or every other day and they are thriving.

[meanie]

I'm a newbie who is also thinking of mounting a Phal (noid & not precious) on oak.
I was thinking of boring a hole down the top with a series of very small holes drilled through the mounting surface into this larger hole. My thoughts are to put the moisture retentive gel crystals into the larger hole in an effort to get some kind of slow release system going. Is this a viable solution?